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Trip Report #9-2003: FlorenceFiled from Pula, Croatia44 53.3 N 13 47.7 ESeptember 10, 2003
Photo: Ponte all Grazie over the River Arno, Florence, Italy Buon Giorno, Family & Friends: In the middle of our stay in Venice, we arranged a short trip to Florence. We rode the vaporetto to the Ferrovia stop, which is right in front of the train station. We then boarded a high speed train, traveling in comfort to Florence, where we debarked just a couple of blocks from the heart of the old city. The cost for this trip was 26 euros round trip for each of us. We then proceeded to find a place to stay for one night that was close to everything we wanted to see. Tom tends to want to check into the first nice place he sees and has little patience for checking around until we find the BEST spot, which is my technique. We compromised when I agreed that we would check 3 and take the best one. We found a 3-star hotel near the Piazza di Republic for 80 euros, inexpensive by Florence standards, and very clean, comfortable and convenient. By this time, we were hungry and found a nice little sidewalk restaurant where we could sit and people-watch. Lunch, 2 small pizzas, a small salad and 2 beverages cost 25 euros - more expensive than in Venice. But very good. We then walked a few blocks to Piazza del Duomo, dominated by the famous cathedral and dome, the Santa Maria del Fiore. The cathedral is the 4th largest in Europe and construction on it was started in 1296. The dome, which is still the tallest building in Florence, was built without scaffolding and has a thicker inner shell to support the marble and orange-tiled covering. The interior ceiling of the dome is covered with beautiful frescoes depicting the Last Judgment.
Photo: Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral with Dome and Campanile The facade of the cathedral is constructed from white, green and pink marble from Tuscany.
Photo: Front of the cathedral
Photo: View of the dome and the campanile, designed by Giotto Across from the cathedral is the Baptistry with it's octagonal shape and famous bronze doors by Ghiberti, depicting 10 scenes from scripture. Dante is among the many famous Florentines baptized here.
Photo: The Baptistry Florence is a city that enjoyed the patronage of the Medici family, a wealthy banking dynasty, who supported the work of artists and writers in Florence for 3 centuries. Consequently, the city is filled with some of the greatest works of art of the Renaissance. The San Marco area of Florence is a student quarter, as this is where the Academy of Fine Arts, the oldest art school in the world (1563), is located. We toured the Gallery of the Academy where many of Michaelangelo's works are exhibited. It was a real treat to view the original statue of "David" here - a work that was done when Michaelangelo was 29 years old from a flawed piece of marble that had been rejected by 2 other sculptors. It is so beautiful. A copy of it stands at the door to the Vecchio Palace and it is nice, but can not compare to the original work.
Photo: Fountain of Neptune (1575) in the Piazza dell Signoria The Piazza della Signoria was once the political center of the city, the forum of the republic, and is the site of the Vecchio Palace and the Loggia dei Lanzi, where many important works are contained, including the "Rape of the Sabine Women" and "Perseus with the Head of Medusa".
Photo: Giambologna's "Rape of the Sabine Women"
Photo: Peg & Tom at the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence A walk to the riverfront brought us to the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence, built in 1345 and the only bridge to survive World War II. The bridge is filled with antique and jewelry shops and attracts large crowds of shoppers.
Photo: The back windows of shops on the Ponte Vecchio
Photo: Crowds of shoppers on the Ponte Vecchio Not all the bridges and streets in Florence are this crowded. There are beautiful places to walk where one is not elbow to elbow with shoppers.
Photos: A street in Florence
Photo: Ponte Santa Trinita, built in wood 1290, rebuilt 1567
Photo: Tom at the Ponte Vecchio
Photo: Peg in front of the Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio in background The highlight of our trip to Florence was a tour of the Uffizi Gallery, one of the world's great art galleries. It houses an extensive collection of Renaissance art from the Medici collection, including Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and "Primavera" and so many others. The halls of the gallery still retain important works of sculpture, but most of the sculpture has been transferred to the Bargello or to the archeological museum.
Photo: The Uffizi Gallery from across the Arno River, Florence The arcade, from the entrance to the gallery to the river, is lined with statues of famous Florentine artists and writers. And buskers abound, performing mime or playing a variety of musical instruments.
Photo: Statue of Dante in the Uffizi arcade
Photo: Playing beautiful music at the Uffizi We only had 2 days to see Florence, so we did not see it all, of course, but we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to this beautiful city. Arrivederci, Peg & Tom s/v Starboard Home
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Grand Daughters' web pages: Anna's Home Page, Anastasia's Home Page Isabelle's Home Page
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